Hello!
Welcome to GMT's monthly e-newsletter for November 2009. We send this e-newsletter on the first Monday of every month to share feature announcements, membership tips, links to recent articles from environmental reporters, new members, and other helpful resources.
You are receiving this as your organization is a member of Green Media Toolshed and you are currently a registered GMT user. Should you wish to opt out of this monthly communication, please see the instructions in section 8 below.
Word Count: 1,639
Read Time: 6 minutes
In this issue you will find:
1. Member Connections
2. Be in the Know – How GMT Tools Can Help Your Group
3. Buzz from the Beat
4. Link(s) of the Month
5. Community Coverage
6. GMT Welcomes 1 New Member
7. Support: Database Do’s and Don’ts
8. Opt out instructions
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1. Member Connections: Skype Your GMT Support Team, New Vocus Q & A Sessions, GMT Member Buttons, and True Spin Discount
Instant Chat with your GMT Support Team:
Michelle Kohn and Nina Schwartz are available by Skype daily from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Eastern for any urgent or quick support questions about Vocus.
Examples of good uses for Skype chats are when a member:
1. is having trouble accessing GMT or Vocus for a press release deadline
2. needs help joining a training
3. has a quick Vocus question that is needed to continue their current work
4. wants to schedule a time to go over an in-depth issue
Take advantage of this by connecting with us on Skype:
Reach Michelle at: kohn.michelle
Reach Nina at: Nina.m.schwartz
If you don’t have a Skype account, you can create one and download the free software at http://www.skype.com/.
New Vocus Q & A Session on November 10th:
Did you take a GMT & Media Database Training and still have questions on the system? Join Nina Schwartz, Michelle Kohn, and other members to ask your questions and get answers to other common questions.
We hope you can join us on Tuesday November 10th, 1:00- 1:30 p.m. eastern. RSVPs are not necessary. View call details in our member center.
Add the new GMT member Logo Button to your website:
Show off your membership in GMT to your other website visitors through the new Logo Buttons in our member center.
Simply copy the code below the button that you want to use and paste into your website’s html. If you have any questions, contact nina@greenmediatoolshed.org.
True Spin Discount for GMT Members:
For those of you registering for the True Spin Conference in January, 2010, remember that you can receive a 10% discount for registration as a GMT member. The True Spin Conference is a national conference on media relations and progressive communications to be held in Denver, CO from January 21 – 22, 2010.
To receive the discount, write “GMT” on the mail-in registration form and subtract the discount from the registration fee, which varies according to when you sign up. You will have to mail in checks to get the discount, and so are unable use credit cards for registration.
GMT has participated in the last two True Spins and helped to organize a track at the '08 conference. We'll be involved again this year and our Executive Director Marty Kearns is a speaker.
Keynotes will include Andy Goodman of agoodman.com and Rashad Robinson of Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Other speakers include Kathy Bonk of Communications Consortium Media Center, Dean Hollander of Fenton Communications, and strategic consultant Holly Minch, whose name you may recognize as a trainer for GMT’s skill building training on election communications.
More info coming soon at http://www.truespinconference.com/
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2. Be in the Know - How GMT Tools Can Help Your Group: New Tips to Better Manage your Media Lists
Whether you the only person from your organization working in Green Media Toolshed or a member of a communications staff of multiple users, it is important to know how to best manage your media lists. The GMT support team has compiled some tips on how to save, find, export, and remove a media list in the system. We’ve also thrown in a few checkpoints for making sure your list is targeted and to help you continue to build your skills.
This advice will help ensure that your lists are convenient to access, updated, and effective. Read through the advice in our support center.
If you have additional questions on how to best build your manage your media lists, please the GMT support staff at (202)-659-7710 x10 or x13.
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3. Buzz from the Beat: Find Reporters who cover your Issues from the Society of Environmental Journalists 2008- 2009 Awards
The Society for Environmental Journalists (SEJ) 2008- 2009 Awards for Reporting on the Environment were announced in early October. The recipients of this award have demonstrated excellent examples of covering the green beat in print, investigative reporting, radio, television, online, and through other publications.
The winners and links to their pieces are available on the SEJ website at http://www.sej.org/initiatives/winners-sej-8th-annual-awards
Read through the list of winners to see examples of effective story telling, narrative, and documentation. The award recipients may also be contacts whom you want to add to your media lists for toxins, natural gas and drilling, energy, nuclear power, water biology, and more.
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4. Link of the month: Get Ready for 2010 Editorial Calendar Releases
Editorial Calendars are an effective way to get placement in a magazine feature article next year in 2010. The majority of Editorial Calendars get released to the public in November and December, and the next few months will therefore be a good time to research them in the media database.
If you plan to take advantage of this resource, get some quick facts on how and when the calendars get updated with this post on Vocus’ media blog.
“I want my editorial calendar opportunities,” provides helpful information to help you get started.
Read the full post at http://www.vocus.com/invocus/blogSept09.html. It is located as the third post from the top of the blog.
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4. Newsroom Notes section: New Pitch for Food and Nutrition News
For those of you that work on sustainable food, agriculture, and heath issues, there is a new online magazine that may be a potential pitch. Eat, Drink and Be launched in October as an online daily news source for consumers, families, and educators. Content is updated several times per day, and covers food quality and nutrition, safety and production, as well as information on laws and illnesses.
The publication is led by managing editor Mansour Samadpour and online editor Katie Wallace.
To get coverage, pitch your story to Katie at:
Katie Wallace
Eat, Drink and Be
(206) 522-5432
Contact (at) eatdrinkandbe.org
www.eatdrinkandbe.org
Get more information on this new magazine as well as more media updates at Vocus' Daily Media Moves blog at http://www.vocus.com/invocus/movesarchives_invocus_com.html
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6. Let’s Welcome 1 New Member to our GMT Community
Potomac Conservancy protects the health, beauty, and enjoyment of the Potomac River and its tributaries. The Conservancy's primary focus is protection of water quality through land protection and sound land use practices. Because clean water alone is not enough, the Conservancy also works to preserve and restore the Potomac's scenic landscapes, and to enhance river-based recreational opportunities.
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7. Media Database Q & A: Remove Duplicate Contacts from your List
“How can I remove duplicate contacts from my list?” and “Is this an automatic process in the media database?” are common questions asked to the GMT support team. We’d like to clarify the real facts on “de-duping” and provide you with some advice for ensuring that you don’t send duplicate information to contacts.
Does Vocus automatically remove duplicates? If you send to more than one list, and the same e-mail address is present on both lists, the system will send only one e-mail to that particular address.
However, there is a 1:1 ratio of contacts to outlets in the system. This means that if a contact works at more than one publication or broadcast station, they may have two records with separate e-mail address for each one. If both contact profiles are on your list, that contact will therefore twice receive your press release.
For this reason, it is best practice to thoroughly check your media list for duplicate records of the same media contact. The process to do this is actually very simple.
To check all names on your list…
1. View your media list on the search results page to view all contacts on the list.
2. Alphabetize the contacts by name. You can do this quickly by clicking on the “Name” column in the gray navigation bar.
3. Scan the alphabetical list to find duplicate names.
To check a specific reporter…
1. View your media list on the search results page to view all contacts on the list.
2. Click on the “Find” feature on the bottom right hand corner of the search results page.
3. In the “Find” feature, you can search for specific contact names and outlet names to see if duplicates exist.
4. If you find a duplicate, you can remove it from your list immediately.
Call the GMT support staff at (202)-659-7710 x10 or x13 if you would like us to walk you through these steps.
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View past e-newsletters in our monthly e-newsletter archive section of the GMT Training Center.
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